Grinding device for knives



Feb. 21, 1956 H. H. TOWNSHEND 2,735,236

GRINDING DEVICE FOR KNIVES AND THE LIKE Filed Nov. 5, 1953 IN VENTOR im my,

United States Patent 2,735,236 GR NG E C R HE we.

Henry H. Townshend, New Haven, Conn., assignor to J'." T. Henry Manufacturing Co., Inc, Hamden, Conn, a corporation of Connecticut This invention relates to knife sharpeners, and more particularly to. a simply. constructed device, offrelatively light weight which cornprises a: grinding wheel driven by Water power and provided with m a s by which it may be e m set 9 the di jh fie W t r e t st 0 a se- It is c a d by e Presen nve on t R Q P a relatively simple and inexpensive device for. use by, the ve e s der 9 hares k e en a t r k i D v s f h Pu p se ha e een en t st d Whish aredrivenby means of an electrical motor, but these, devices are relatively expensive, principally on account of th e n of e es nd a e a o of ela v l heavy weight.

The device of the present application comprises a relatively simple structure which will be inexpensive to manufacture and which will also beef relatively light weight so that it may, if desired, be supported upon a suitable surface or may be held in the hand during the sharpening operation. As illustrated, it comprises a housing or casing withidwhich is rotatably mounted a shaft having a turbine or water wheel upon the upper end thereof and a grinding stone upon the lower end thereof. Provisions are made for supplying water to the turbine from a source of supply such as a city water supply, for example, through a tangentially directed nozzle so that a stream of water under pressure will be directed against the blades of the turbine to rotate the same, and in. this manner rotate the grinding stone.

Also, as illustrated, the casing or housing is of cylindrical shape, and a slot is provided at one side of the casing so that a knife blade may be inserted into this slot with its edge in contact with the peripheral surface of the grinding wheel so that the knife may be drawn across this surface while the wheel is being rotated and the edge of the knife sharpened.

Moreover, provision is made for discharge of the water from the turbine downwardly through the casing so that the water passes over the grinding wheel and serves as a coolant as well as washing away emery dust so there is no danger of this dust collecting in the bearings of the device.

One object of the present invention is to provide a grinding device for knife sharpening or the like which will be relatively inexpensive and of light weight and efficient in operation.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a grinding wheel for knives or the like operated by water power, the grinding wheel being mounted below a water-operated turbine, and the water from the turbine directed downwardly over the grinding wheel.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a knife sharpener operated by water power and of relatively light weight so that it may be held in the hand, if desired, during use, the knife sharpener comprising a casing having therein a water-operated turbine wheel secured at the upper end of a shaft rotatably mounted in the casing, the shaft carrying a grinding wheel at its 2,735,236 ll ried Feb. .1. 256.

lower end, and, provision forpermitting discharge of. the water from the tt1rbine."downwardly.over the "grinding wheel to cool the sine and washloosenedabrasive parti cles m a.

To these and othenends the invention consists in the novel features and combinations, of; parts tob e herein after described and claimed In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. '1 is a side."elevational view, of a knife sharpener m odyi g y gm v Fig, Z is" armm elvational view thereof;

Fig. 3 is, a sectional. vivg o n line 3 }3 of..F ig. 2 and Fig. 4 is a sectionalview on lin e 4 4 of- Fig; W i

To illustrate: a preferred embodiment of the invention, there is shown in the drawings a'knife s'harpenencomprising acasing 'l ll vvhich, asfsho wn, is of substantially cylindrical shape, the casing being open at its lower ends. Midway between the upperfandlow a ends the casing is provided witha web 11 having openings" 12 therethrough to provide communication between the upper andlowe r portions of the casing for ekhaust flow. of water. therethroughi I 4 l I The web 11 providesgcentrally of the casing anaXial-ly disposed bearing: member. 13 within which is mounteda bearing sleev e having an upper enlarged end rest insures the e s he lee e 14 ma e din P e y a? t 1 hr aded 1 e we end her of whichprotrud es from thebearihg member 13 R ea 'mre wnm e ba ng as a haft-1 t is haf bar asraw resud iz t t in rme t lier en 5 wn t 181 9 asfto educe. the beari ur e e ween t i shaft a d he le e The shaf i o ide w t an annu a houlder 1 i he P we l 5 9 e b arin le e, and depen in ee hi hu e a sa der an 2 which is ro atbly e e ed in. an. ann l rece 21 n he ar e portion 15 of the sleeve 14. Thus the shaft 17 isjrotatia ed in. t e earin sleev i h a in m a -a te? f s oa- Ris s ured to he u ner n o the shaf .7- a ill-$ .5 tr-Water vheelha ins a hub l 'twhi h reveives he shaft and which may be held upon the shaft by the nut 24. This turbine comprises a body portion 25 from which depend vanes 26, curved, as shown in Fig. 4, so that a jet of water may be directed upon them and effect rotation of the wheel.

At the lower end of the casing the shaft 17 is provided with a reduced polygonal end 27 upon which is fixed a grinding wheel 28, this wheel being clamped upon collars 29 and 30 threaded upon the reduced end 27 of the rotatable shaft. It may here be noted that the grinding wheel is mounted below the turbine or on the same side thereof as the vanes 26, so that after a stream of water has been directed upon the vanes, it will pass downwardly through the openings 12 in the supporting web 11 and be discharged over the grinding wheel 28 so as to provide a coolant for the wheel as well as to wash the emery dust or other abrasive particles therefrom.

The casing 10 is provided with a slot 32 of planar form, shown more especially in Figs. 2 and 3, this slot being provided in an upwardly inclined direction so that a knife blade, shown in dotted lines at 33 in Fig. 3, may be inserted through the slot and its edge drawn across the grinding wheel in contact with the periphery thereof so as to be sharpened. It will be understood that the knife may be drawn across the wheel first in one direction and then in the other in order to sharpen both sides thereof.

At the upper end of the casing adjacent the turbine wheel there is provided a tangentially disposed neck or inlet member 34 to which may be secured the inlet or injecting nozzle 35, the forward end of this nozzle extending into the neck 34 in close proximity to the vanes 26 so asto direct a stream of water thereon. This nozzle may be connected to the usual household water faucet by a flexible tube or the like 36.

, It will be apparent that with the above construction I have provided a knife sharpener of very simple construction and one of light weight which may, if desired, be held in the hand during use. Moreover, it may be used even by those ordinarily unskilled in knife sharpening operations in that the slot 32 is so provided as to guide the knife blade into proper contact with the grinding wheel. In addition, the discharge of the water from the lower side of the turbine wheel downwardly through the casing over the grinding wheel not only provides a convenient discharge outlet for the water employed, but also employs this water as a coolant for the wheel and also as ameans to remove emery dust and other particles from the grinding wheel.

While I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that it is not to be limited to all of the details shown, but is capable of modification and variation within the spirit of the invention and within the scope of the claims.

What I claim is:

1. A knife sharpener comprising a substantially cylindrical casing open at both ends, a web provided at an intermediate portion of the casing, a bearing supported by said web, a shaft rotatably mounted in said bearing, a turbine wheel secured to the upper end of said shaft, said turbine wheel having a body portion serving as a closure member for the upper end of the casing, and blades carried by, and depending downwardly from, the body member, a grinding wheel within said casing and secured to the lower end of said shaft below said web, means for directing a jet of fluid against the blades of said turbine wheel, said web being provided with openings to permit discharge of the fluid over the grinding wheel, and the wall of the casing being provided with a slot extending therethrough adjacent the grinding wheel and inclined to the vertical to permit insertion of a knife blade therethrough into contact with the periphery of the grinding wheel.

2. A knife sharpener comprising a substantially cylindrical casing open at both ends, a web provided at an intermediate portion of the casing, a bearing supported by said web, a shaft rotatably mounted in said bearing,

a turbine wheel secured to the upper end of said shaft, said turbine wheel having a body portion serving as a closure member for the upper end of the casing, and blades secured at the lower surface of, and depending downwardly from, the body member, a grinding wheel within said casing and secured to the lower end of said shaft below said web, an inlet member arranged tangentially of the casing adjacent the turbine. wheel, a nozzle carried by said inlet member to direct a jet of fluid against the blades of the wheel, and said web being provided with openings to permit discharge of the fluid from said turbine wheel downwardly over the grinding wheel.

3. A knife sharpener comprising a substantially cylindrical casing open at both ends, a web provided at an intermediate portion of the casing, a bearing supported by said web, a shaft rotatably mounted in said bearing, a turbine wheel secured to the upper end of said shaft, said turbine wheel-having a body portion serving as a closure member for the upper end of the casing, and blades depending downwardly from the body member, a grinding wheel within said casing and secured to the lower end of said shaft below said web, an inlet member arranged tangentially of the casing adjacent the turbine wheel, a nozzle carried by said inlet member to direct a jet of fluid against the blades of the wheel, said web being provided with openings to permit discharge of the fluid from said turbine wheel downwardly over the grinding wheel, and the wall of said casing being provided with a slot of planar form extending therethrough adjacent the grinding wheel and inclined to the vertical whereby the Walls of said slot serve to guide a knife blade into edge contact with the periphery of the grinding wheel.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Placide July 12, 1932 

